Green energy firms looking to build offshore wind turbines in the Firth of Forth could be hindered by the hundreds of shipwrecks littering the estuary bed.
Many ill-fated vessels, some believed to date back thousands of years, are lying at the bottom of the Forth. No-one knows exactly how many there are, but it is thought there are at least 400.
A Scottish Government report said the relics are likely to influence where turbines can be located.
The government has drawn up draft plans to exploit the country’s offshore wind potential by building large turbine developments around the coast.
Among the sites being explored are the Forth and Solway firths, as well as waters off Argyll, Islay and Kintyre.
Should the Forth be chosen, Levenmouth would benefit from the subsequent jobs boost, with Energy Park Fife in Methil identified as a key site for the manufacture of offshore equipment.
The government’s draft plan for offshore wind developments said, “There are numerous points of environmental constraint associated with shipwrecks.
“As shipwrecks are very localised, they do not prevent the siting of a wind development in the area as a whole, but could impact upon turbine location.”
Fife Council’s assistant archeologist Steve Liscoe said the Forth harboured an underwater museum.
He said, “Everything from Bronze Age log boats up to 20th century warships will be lying in the Forth.
“There are all manner of naval losses as well as mercantile losses.”
He added, “A lot of merchant ships were brought down by mines, aerial attack or torpedoes. And there will be a lot of aircraft lying there too.”
Ancient wooden boats are unlikely to cause many problems, but modern, metal vessels could do.
Photo used under Creative Commons licence courtesy of Flickr users smthng and mattk1979.